Ohio State forward Seth Towns announced on Sunday that he was stepping away from the Buckeyes and will not play this season after dealing with injury setbacks during this offseason.
“Buckeye Nation, it has been a great honor to represent you and the Ohio State University for two years,” Towns said in a statement. “After a few setbacks this summer and some tough conversations with my coaches and medical personnel, it has become clear that my body is not in a position to endure a full Big Ten season. I share with many of you the frustration of not having been able to compete at the level I am capable of, or at least something close to it.
“Yet, it is the immense gratitude I feel for having the chance to play at all that has carried me through for so long,” he added. “I have been remarkably blessed and would be living in vain to let anything overshadow that.”
Towns returned to his hometown of Columbus and joined Buckeyes ahead of the 2020-21 season after four years at Harvard — the last two of which he was sidelined due to a devastating knee injury sustained during his sophomore season. He was Ivy League Player of the Year during the 2017-18 season after averaging 16.0 points, 5.7 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game for the Crimson.
Towns did not see much action during his time at Ohio State, appearing in 25 games in two seasons for the Buckeyes — all coming in his first season. He averaged 3.8 points while knocking down 42.1 percent of field goal attempts. He missed all of last season after undergoing back surgery.
“To my teammates, thank you for giving me the chance to fight alongside you. Whether I was playing or sidelined by injury, our success mattered to me all the same because I was bought into you all and the culture we built together,” Towns said. “As for my immediate future, I’ll be taking some time to figure out what my next chapter looks like. But, I am excited to find what is next for me and rest in my faith that I will be placed — as I always have been — exactly where I am intended to be.”
